Opinion
Editorial

More urgency needed on court trial delays

Canada's criminal courts have long been plagued with unreasonable delays -- so much so that, last summer, the Supreme Court of Canada used a case known as R vs. Jordan to set hard limits on how long trials can take.

This promptly spiralled into a major crisis, as hundreds of cases across Canada, including some involving serious allegations such as murder, were stayed -- meaning those charged were freed without trial.

Hundreds of applications for stays have been made countrywide; and in Ontario, the Crown attorney association worries as many as 6,000 cases could ultimately be affected.

Justice authorities are scrambling for solutions. Ontario Attorney General Yasir Naqvi wants the federal government to eliminate preliminary hearings in all but the most serious criminal cases. But the Canadian Bar Association opposes this.

In Alberta, prosecutors are now "triaging" cases -- that is, abandoning some, in hopes that the most violent and serious offences won't be stayed for delays.

Others urge that certain criminal cases, such as drunk driving, be treated as "administrative" charges, removing them from the criminal court system.

This problem is the responsibility of everyone in the justice system, but the federal government, based on what Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould told a Senate committee recently, seems to be pinning its hopes on a case that will come to Canada's top court in April. Wilson-­Raybould said James Cody vs. R, will be followed "very closely" by her office.

Benjamin Perrin, a University of British Columbia law professor, said the Supreme Court might decide to use Cody, a drug-trafficking and weapons case, to clarify how lower courts should assess delays for the criminal trials that were already in the system before the fateful Jordan ruling.

"All it takes is one of those majority judges to go, 'This was a big mistake,' and have a completely different approach taken, so you could see a really quick reversal from the court itself," said Perrin.

Sen. Vern White, on the Senate committee, doubts the court will even partially reverse itself. "I don't think they see the problem."

Anne London-Weinstein, president of the Defence Counsel Association of Ottawa, noted the Cody case is unique, which could mean its broader application is limited. Maybe the Cody case will help. But there's no silver bullet for fixing court delays. Meanwhile, public outrage will only mount.

The federal government should work with the provinces to clear backlogs. Anything else is unfair to victims and the accused.